1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to an electric connector used for a wire harness for electrically connecting a circuit board thereto, and further relates to a metal terminal used in the connector.
2. Description of the Related Art
There have been suggested electric connectors having a variety of structures and/or functions for electrically connecting a circuit board to a wire harness. In order to enhance a force by which a terminal is held in a connector housing, there has been known a system for doubly engaging the terminal to the housing.
For instance, Japanese Patent Application Publication No. H07(1995)-211380 has suggested an electric connector. FIGS. 16 to 18 are cross-sectional views of the electric connector suggested in the above-mentioned Publication, and FIG. 19 is a vertical cross-sectional view of the electric connector.
The illustrated connector includes a connector housing 1, and a rear holder 6. A plurality of terminal rooms 3 are formed in the connector housing 1. Each of the terminal rooms 3 is formed with a lance 5 for preventing terminal 4 inserted into the terminal room 3 from being slipped out of the terminal room 3.
As illustrated in FIGS. 16 to 19, the rear holder 6 includes a main plate 8, and a pair of engagement walls 7 downwardly extending from the main plate 8. As illustrated in FIG. 19, projections 9a and 9b are formed at inner surfaces of the engagement walls 7. The projections 9a and 9b sandwich an outer wall of the connector housing 1, thereby the rear holder 6 being temporarily engaged to the connector housing 1 making the engagement walls 7 of the rear holder 6 not to extend into a space in which the terminal 4 is inserted.
In the above-mentioned conventional electric connector, the terminal 4 inserted into the terminal room 3 formed in the connector housing 1 is temporarily doubly fixed in the terminal room 3 by the rear holder 6 and the lance 5. However, since the system for temporarily fixing the rear holder 6 to the connector housing 1 is located above the connector housing 1, it is quite difficult or almost impossible to reduce a height of the electric connector.